Recently, it has been proposed that a film formed of a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer composite in which a thermoplastic resin is blended with an elastomer be arranged as an air permeation preventing layer on an inner surface of a tire (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
A pneumatic tire including such an air permeation preventing layer is manufactured in a following step: a cylindrical film formed of a thermoplastic resin or a thermoplastic elastomer composite in which a thermoplastic resin is blended with an elastomer is shaped; the film is folded into a sheet shape; rubber layers are laminated on both surfaces of the folded film; then the laminate of the film and the rubber layers is opened into a cylindrical shape and is fitted on a tire making drum thereby forming an uncured tire (for example, see Patent Documents 3 and 4). When the laminate of the film and the rubber layers is used, there is an advantage that handling of an intermediate member becomes easy and the workability improves.
However, the bonding between end portions of the rubber layers at end portions of the folded film in the width direction is not necessarily sufficient when the rubber layers are laminated on the both surfaces of the folded film. In such case, there is a problem that troubles are caused due to separation of the rubber layers at a splice portion in a state where the laminate is fitted on the tire making drum. The splice portion of the rubber layers hardly opens if the width of the rubber layer laminated on the film is set to be large. In this case, however, the splice portion of the rubber layers protrudes in the radial direction of the drum in the state where the laminate is fitted on the tire making drum. As a result, an air pocket is easily formed in the vicinity of the splice portion when another tire component is wound.    Patent Document 1: Japanese patent application Kokai publication No. 8-217923    Patent Document 2: Japanese patent application Kokai publication No. 11-199713    Patent Document 3: Japanese patent application Kokai publication No. 10-29248    Patent Document 4: Japanese patent application Kokai publication No. 2001-260137